My Darling Family and Friends-
Hola:) Wow what an exhausting week. Hermana Montoya and I have been working super hard this week to help Gerardo to be ready for his baptism (which was yesterday!!!!!) and so we've been a little more then exhausted. I’ve also had to wake up early every day to catch up in my journal writing. I got behind at the beginning of this cambio and it’s been a real fight to get caught up, but today I did it. Every day something happens to me that’s miraculous, incredible, special, beautiful, etc. and I want to always remember the experiences from my mission and so my journal has become something really important for me. I’m glad to report that I have written something from every single 145 days that I've been a missionary. Its crazy to believe that I’ve actually been gone that long but its true! I’m coming up on my 5-month mark already, wow. It's weird but there are some days when I don’t remember what anything but mission life is like. Like those days when I slept in until 12, those days I didn’t read my scriptures for 3 hours, and those days when I didn’t eat rice and beans... hhmm, those days existed??? I can’t remember haha. What did I do for 19 years before this?
I’m sorry I’m having a brain dead moment on all the things I wanted to tell y'all....
One of the funnest things were doing right now is helping the Garcia family in their Soda (its like a little family restaurant.). Every Wednesday we go and give service to them by working for free for an hour or two. They’re a big family of 8 kids. The youngest just got home from his mission so they’re all grown up. We work a lot with this special family! The third oldest is Jovana, our cook:) she has 5 kids and were at her house everyday! She is an awesome cook so we always leave happy. There are 2 brothers, Keni and Luis that help us to do a lot of things in the work. They’re both on the high council so they help us visit people, organize baptisms and all ward\ stake business. There are also 3 sisters and the mom who are inactive. We're working really hard to help them. When we give service in the soda we always leave them with a spiritual message and a prayer. They’re all really funny, happy people! We just have to help some of them sort out their priorities;).
The ward I’m in right now is really incredible! en serio. The people are true saints and have been taking really good care of us. We're fed everywhere we go (now I understand why people say that the hermanas always leave Moravia chubbier then when they got there) and were also given umbrellas from everyone! Hermana Montoya and I stopped carrying umbrellas after we lost 2 in 2 consecutive days, but then it began to rain like in the days of Noah..... So now were a little bit fatter and our house is filled with umbrellas!! No complaints. Another incredible thing about our ward is the youth. They’ve all got the missionary spirit like mad! This week we did divisions 3 times with young women. Every member we visit had a reference for us and asks us to go out teaching with us. This week we had our first baptism together. His name is Gerardo, he’s 14. The ward, especially the young men’s program has just succored him in! Before he was baptized he was invited to every mutual, seminary activity, ward activity, church event, etc. For the last 3 weeks. He attended a missionary farewell, mutual, a young men’s hike campo out thingy. General conference, seminary graduation. The list goes one! For the youth of the church here, their friends in the church are almost all the have so they’re all knit in really tight with each other. And we don’t even have to tell them to do it! The other day during one of our divisions the young woman I was with invited an investigator girl to go to mutual with her then next day (I didn’t even think about it let alone ask her to do that!). Another example is Javier with Gerardo. At general conference he brought him a white shirt and tie so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. He also brought him a notebook to take notes. Later he gave him a book of Mormon with the steps of prayer written in the front. It’s these little acts of service by these youth that have really touched me. Missionary work isn’t this huge deal, its a lot of little thoughtful acts that bring the spirit and help people feel the difference of who we are as members of the church of Christ.
One other quick experience. This week we had the opportunity to share a few choice moments with a Jehovah’s Witness. It turns out we were both visiting the same person and one day we showed up at the same time... awkward. Haha, being the naive little girl I am I thought itwou7ld be a good idea for us all to talk together. The moment we sat down she began to attack the book of Mormon, the church and us. This went on for a little while until she made the comment that we didn’t know whom Christ was. Well, as missionaries we didn’t take to that too kindly... My companion (she’s so great!) Looked her right in the face and said, Hermana, as true representatives of Jesus Christ we know who he is, the significance of his sacrifice and the role he plays in our lives and in our eternal salvation... it was awesome. Needless to say we gained nothing from that lesson except a testimony of our own literal authority as the messengers and disciples authorized to represent Jesus Christ and His true Church.
How blessed are we to know the truth? To never have to doubt? And if we do have doubts we have fountains of sources to search out the answers! I love this gospel, this church, Moravia, I love this work!! But more then anything I love my Savior and Redeemer, my Brother and friend, My Lord and King, My very own Jesus Christ. I love you family and friends:) prayers from Costa Rica!
All my Love,
Hermana Kugath
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